The days and weeks leading up to a release date are filled with practical questions that the facility is often not equipped to answer clearly. What time will they be released? What do they leave with? What happens if the release date changes? What is the difference between a projected release date and an actual release date? This section covers everything families need to know about the release process including how release dates are calculated, what good time and earned time credits do to the projected date, what an inmate receives upon release, how transportation from the facility works, what the first 24 hours after release typically look like, and how to prepare as a family for the moment the door opens. The guidance here comes from people who have walked out those doors and from families who were waiting on the other side. See also our sections on Halfway House, Parole and Probation, and Re-entry and Rehabilitation.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Release questions
I'll assume you mean how much actual time would be served on a particular sentence... it starts with "good time credits" that are applied to the sentence calculator a the beginning of the sentence. An inmate can only lose that good time by having behavior issues or breaking numerous rules. In federal you get 15%, state prison ranges from 15-30% good time. The difference with the state is that they're also dealing with a parole system too that can release an offender...
Read moreSubject: Release questions
The odds are reasonable if everything lines up the right way, but mandatory minimum sentences come with specific constraints worth understanding before getting too optimistic.
The term mandatory minimum means the law requires a floor on how much time must be served before any release is possible. On a 24-month mandatory minimum, that floor is the full two years in most jurisdictions, meaning parole consideration does not typically begin until that minimum is satisfied. Unlike discretionary sentences where good behavior can...
Read moreSubject: Release questions
If eligible, Class 1 earns 30 days of good time credit per month. Class 2 earns 20 days credit per month; Class 3 earns 10 days credit per month; and Class 4 does not earn any good time. All inmates are placed in Class 2 status when they arrive
Subject: Release questions
The release date showing on the Bureau of Prisons website is the real date, and it already has the math done for you.
Unlike state systems where you have to calculate good time credit yourself, the BOP's inmate locator at bop.gov displays the projected release date after the standard 15% good time reduction has already been applied. What you see is what you get, assuming he maintains a clean disciplinary record from now until release.
That last part matters. The 15% good...
Read moreSubject: Release questions
You think about getting out every single day. That never stops. But what that thought looks like changes significantly over the course of a sentence.
In the beginning, the anger dominates everything. You are angry at the system, angry at the circumstances, and if you are being honest, angry at yourself. That anger is loud and it crowds out almost everything else. Over time, if you do the internal work, it starts to quiet down. Not disappear, but quiet. And in...
Read moreSubject: Release questions
He is very close to the end, and the math works strongly in his favor.
In the Texas state jail system, inmates who maintain good behavior earn a 15% good time credit. On a 15-month sentence that works out to about 85% of the time actually served, which comes to roughly 12.75 months. With 11 months already in, he is past that threshold if the good time credit is fully intact.
The key variable is whether his time in county jail counts...
Read moreSubject: Release questions
depends, most law enforcement people use a "material witness warrant" to hold someone for as long as they want without officially charging them.
Subject: Release questions
A court date scheduled after a release date is unusual enough that it warrants a closer look at what that court appearance is actually for.
If the April court date is connected to the same case and charge he is currently serving time on, there may be a clerical or scheduling issue worth having an attorney look into. A court date that falls after the release date on the same matter does not typically make procedural sense, and getting clarity on...
Read moreSubject: Release questions
When there is another charge from a separate jurisdiction, that charging jurisdiction places a "detainer" on inmates yet to be adjudicated (brought before a magistrate or judge). Therefore, your loved one is facing another charge after doing the time for the charge she got paroled for.
Subject: Release questions
No, released inmates may be picked up by civilians, family members and/or friends. The only time that a bus or train ticket is necessary is if they do not have someone to come and pick them up.
